Lecture 1 Definition of Gears

1.1 HISTORY OF GEARS India history is the oldest one and some put it as 60,000 years back [1]. Our mythological stories date it even before. In all those years people were leaving and were trying to improve their living. We also know that earlier people were leaving in the caves and the doors of the caves were made of granite. How were these heavy doors slid or opened? They were slid none other than gear mechanism as shown in Fig.1.1. However, the documented evidence has been lost due to destruction by the invaders and improper storing of palm leaf literature. The guru-kula method of teaching and passing the information mouth to ear procedure and keeping some of the advances as closed secrets have resulted in poor dissemination of the knowledge. But the knowledge of gears has gone from India to east through some of the globe trotters from Chine as back as 2600 years BC. They have used the gears then ingeniously in chariots for measuring the speed and other mechanisms. Aristotle in the fourth century B.C. wrote as though they were being used very commonly. In the fifth century AD Leonard a Vinci designed multitude of devices incorporating many kinds of gears. The industrialization of west made a big impact on gear technology which was a key to the modern development. 1.2 INTRODUCTION Gears are toothed members which transmit power / motion between two shafts by meshing without any slip. Hence, gear drives are also called positive drives. In any pair of gears, the smaller one is called pinion and larger one is called gear immaterial of which is driving the other. When pinion is the driver, it results in step down drive in which the output speed decreases and the torque increases. On the other hand, when the gear is the driver, it results in step up drive in which the output speed increases and the torque decreases. Gears are classified as spur, helical, double helical, straight bevel, spiral bevel and hypoidal bevel, worm and spiral gears.

(i)

(j)

Fig. 1.2 (a) Spur gear, (b) helical gear, (c) Double helical gear or herringbone gear, (d) Internal gear , (e) Rack and pinion, (f) Straight bevel gear, (g) Spiral bevel gear, (h) Hypoidal bevel gear , (i) worm gear and (j) Spiral
gear.

1.3 SPUR GEARS

Fig.1.4 Gearbox of a motor cycle using spur gears Spur gears have their teeth parallel to the axis and are used for transmitting power between two parallel shafts. They are simple in construction, easy to manufacture and cost less. They have highest efficiency and excellent precision rating. They are used in high speed and high load application in all types of trains and a wide range of velocity ratios. Hence, they find wide applications right from clocks, household gadgets, motor cycles, automobiles, and railways to aircrafts.

Fig.1.3. Spur Gear

1.4.HELICAL GEARS

Fig.1.5 Helical Gear

Fig.1.6 Automatic transmission of an automobile

Helical gears are used for parallel shaft drives. They have teeth inclined to the axis. Hence for the same width, their teeth are longer than spur gears and have higher load carrying capacity. Their contact ratio is higher than spur gears and they operate smoother and quieter than spur gears. Their precision rating is good. They are recommended for very high speeds and loads. Thus, these gears find wide applications in automotive gearboxes. Their efficiency is slightly lower than spur gears. The helix angle also introduces axial thrust on the shaft. 1.5. DOUBLE HELICAL GEAR OR HERRINGBONE GEAR

Fig. 1.7 Double Helical Gear or Herringbone Gear

Fig. 1.8 Reduction gearbox of cement mill

Double helical or Herringbone gears used for transmitting power between two parallel shafts. They have opposing helical teeth with or without a gap depending on the manufacturing method adopted. Two axial thrusts oppose each other and nullify. Hence the shaft is free from any axial force. Though their load capacity is very high, manufacturing difficulty makes them costlier than

single helical gear. Their applications are limited to high capacity reduction drives like that of cement mills and crushers. 1.6. INTERNAL GEAR

Fig.1.9.Internal Gear

A. flywheel B. torque divider C. torque converter D. rear transmission a. input shaft

b. intermediate shaft c. output brake d. divider brake e. rear transmission brakes f. free wheel

Fig. 1.10 Diwabus transmission (Voith)

Internal gears are used for transmitting power between two parallel shafts. In these gears, annular wheels are having teeth on the inner periphery. This makes the drive very compact. In these drives, the meshing pinion and annular gear will be running in the same direction. Their precision rating is fair. They are useful for high load and high speed application with high reduction ratio. Applications of these gears can be seen in planetary gear drives of automobile automatic transmissions, reduction gearboxes of cement mills, step-up drives of wind mills. They are not recommended for precision meshes because of design, fabrication, and inspection limitations. They should only be used when internal feature is necessary. However, today precision machining capability has led to their usage even in position devices like antenna drives. 1.5 Rack and Pinion

Fig 1.9. Rack and Pinion

Fig. 1.10 Rack and pinion arrangement for lathe carriage movement

1.6. STRAIGHT BEVEL GEAR

Fig.1.11.Straight Bevel Gear

Fig. 1.12 Differential of an automobile.

Straight bevel gears are used for transmitting power between intersecting shafts. They can operate under high speeds and high loads. Their precision rating is fair to good. They are suitable for 1:1 and higher velocity ratios and for right-angle meshes to any other angles. Their good choice
is for right angle drive of particularly low ratios. However, complicated both form and fabrication limits achievement of precision. They should be located at one of the less critical meshes of the train. Wide applications of the straight bevel drives is in automotive differentials, right angle drives of blenders and conveyors.

1.7. SPIRAL BEVEL GEAR

Fig.1.13.Spiral Bevel Gear

Fig.1.14. Crown and Pinion of final drive of an automobile

Spiral bevel gears are also used for transmitting power between intersecting shafts. Because of the spiral tooth, the contact length is more and contact ratio is more. They operate smoother than

straight bevel gears and have higher load capacity. But, their efficiency is slightly lower than straight bevel gear. 1.8. HYPOIDAL BEVEL GEAR

Fig.1.15. Hypoidal Bevel Gear

Fig.1.16. Crown and Pinion of final drive of an automobile

These gears are also used for right angle drive in which the axes do not intersect. This permits the lowering of the pinion axis which is an added advantage in automobile in avoiding hump inside the automobile drive line power transmission. However, the non intersection introduces a considerable amount of sliding and the drive requires good lubrication to reduce the friction and wear. Their efficiency is lower than other two types of bevel gears. These gears are widely used in current day automobile drive line power transmission. 1.9. WORM GEAR

Fig.1.17.Worm Gear

Fig. 1.18 Worm gearbox of a crane drive.

Worm and worm gear pair consists of a worm, which is very similar to a screw and a worm gear, which is a helical gear. They are used in right-angle skew shafts. In these gears, the engagement occurs without any shock. The sliding action prevalent in the system while resulting in quieter operation produces considerable frictional heat. High reduction ratios 8 to 400 are possible. Efficiency of these gears is low anywhere from 90% to 40 %. Higher speed ratio gears are nonreversible. Their precision rating is fair to good. They need good lubrication for heat dissipation and for improving the efficiency. Worm gearing finds wide application in material handling and transportation machinery, machine tools, automobiles etc.

1.10. Spiral Gear. Fig. 1.20

Fig 1.19.Spiral Gear Spiral gears are also known as crossed helical gears. They have high helix angle and transmit power between two non-intersecting non-parallel shafts. They have initially point contact under the conditions of considerable sliding velocities finally gears will have line contact. Hence, they are used for light load and low speed application such as instruments, sewing machine etc. Their precision rating is poor.

TABLE 1 SUMMARY AND EVALUATION OF GEAR TYPES

Type Spur Applications Features and Precision Rating Parallel Shafting. Applicable to all High speeds and loads highest types of trains and a wide range of efficiency velocity ratios. Precision Rating is excellent Parallel Shafting. Very high speeds and loads. Efficiency slightly less than spur mesh. Precision Rating is good Crossed Skewed shafting. Point Helical contact. High sliding Low speeds Light loads Precision Rating is poor Internal Parallel shafts spur High speeds High loads Precision Rating is fair Internal drives requiring high speeds and high loads; offers low sliding and high stress loading; good for high capacity, long life. Used in planetary gears to produce large reduction ratios. Suitable for 1:1 and higher velocity ratios and for rightangle meshes (and other angles) High velocity ratio Angular meshes High loads Not recommended for precision meshes because of design, fabrication, and inspection limitations. Should only be used when internal feature is necessary. Most applicable to high speeds and loads; also used whenever spurs are used. Relatively low velocity ratio; low speeds and light loads only. Any angle skew shafts. Comments Regarding Precision Simplest tooth elements offering maximum precision. First choice, recommended for all the gear meshes, except where very high speeds and loads or special features of other types, such as right angle drive, cannot be avoided. Equivalent quality to spurs, except for complication of helix angle. Recommended for all high-speed and highload meshes. Axial thrust component must be accommodated. To be avoided for precision meshes. Point contact limits capacity and precision. Suitable for right angle drives, if light load. A less expensive substitute for bevel gears. Good lubrication essential because of point of contact and high sliding action.

Helical

Bevel

Intersecting shafts, High speeds, High loads. Precision Rating is fair to good Right-angle skew shafts, High velocity ratio, High speeds and loads, Low efficiency, Most designs nonreversible. Precision rating is fair to good Intersecting and skew shafts. Modest speeds and loads. Precision Rating is fair to good

Worm mesh

SpecialsFace, Spiroid, Helicon, Beveloid

Special cases

Good choice for right angle drive, particularly low ratios. However complicated both form and fabrication limits achievement of precision. Should be located at one of the less critical meshes of the train. Worm can be made to high precision, but worm gear has inherent limitations. To be considered for average precision meshes, but can be of high precision with care. Best choice for combination high velocity ratio and right-angle drive. High sliding requires excellent lubrication. To be avoided as precision meshes. Significant non-conjugate action with departure from nominal center distance and shaft angles. Fabrication needs special equipment and inspection is limited.